Jan Drago

Last updated
Jan Drago
Jan Drago.jpg
Jan Drago, 2010
Member of the King County Council
from the 8th district
In office
January 4, 2010 –November 24, 2010

Jan Drago (born May 12, 1940) [1] is an American politician and educator from Seattle who has served on the Seattle City Council and King County Council. [2]

Contents

Personal history and education

Prior to her election to Seattle City Council, Drago was schoolteacher (1973–1978) and later the owner of a Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream Shoppes franchise in downtown Seattle (1980-1991). [3] She is a graduate of Douglass College, Rutgers University (B.A., Psychology). She and her husband, Noel, are residents of Seattle's Pioneer Square, a downtown historic district, and have four sons and four grandsons. Her favorite form of relaxation is working her plot in Seattle's Judkins P-Patch. [4]

Seattle City Council and King County Council tenures

From 1994 to 2009, Drago was a member of Seattle City Council.

During that time, she was Council President (1996-1997 and 2004–2005), [5] chair of the Finance and Budget Committee (1999–2003) [6] and chair of the Transportation Committee. She also served on the Housing and Economic Development Committee, and the Parks and Seattle Center Committee. She represented the council on the Puget Sound Regional Council and its Transportation Policy Board as well as King County's Regional Transportation Committee, the Trade Development Alliance, the Seattle Convention and Visitors’ Board, PortJobs Board, Seattle-Chongqing Sister Association, Seattle-Taejon Sister City Council, the Sister Cities Coordinating Council, and the Sister City Association. For eight years, she was a Council representative on the Civic Center Client Group.

On March 1, 2009, Drago announced her intention to retire from the Seattle City Council and not seek another term. [7]

Drago's lasting impact, as a Seattle elected official, was on transportation. As a councilmember, Drago played a leading role in the success of a mega-project, the deep-bore tunnel under downtown that replaced the Alaskan Way Viaduct; in the transformation of a major arterial—the two-way Mercer Street—that helped develop the South Lake Union neighborhood now home to Amazon headquarters; and the beginning of the Seattle Streetcar network. [8]

On May 26, 2009, Drago declared that she was running for Mayor of Seattle, seeking to unseat two-term Mayor Greg Nickels. [9] She ultimately finished fifth in the August 2009 primary election and failed to advance to the November general election. [10]

On January 4, 2010, only four days after she had left the Seattle City Council, Drago was appointed to the King County Council, District 8. She filled the seat left vacant by Dow Constantine's election as King County Executive. As a condition of her appointment, she agreed not to seek the post in the November 2010 election. [11]

Civic leadership and volunteer work

Drago was also a board member of the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, and was a member of the Seattle Art Museum Executive Board, Downtown Seattle Association, Washington Council on Crime and Delinquency, Denny Regrade Business Association and the Denny Regrade Crime Prevention Council (former president), the National Women's Political Caucus of Washington, and Washington State Democratic Party. Prior to her election to the City Council, she served as chairperson to Seattle Mayor Charles Royer's Homeless Task Force and vice-chair of Washington Governor Booth Gardner's Task Force on Homelessness. More than 16 years ago, Drago organized the city's Downtown District Council, the first acknowledgment by City Hall that Downtown Seattle was composed of several residential neighborhoods. Drago was one of the original founders of Sustainable Seattle.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington State Route 99</span> Highway in the Seattle metropolitan area, Washington, U.S.

State Route 99 (SR 99), also known as the Pacific Highway, is a state highway in the Seattle metropolitan area, part of the U.S. state of Washington. It runs 49 miles (79 km) from Fife to Everett, passing through the cities of Federal Way, SeaTac, Seattle, Shoreline, and Lynnwood. The route primarily follows arterial streets, including Aurora Avenue, and has several freeway segments, including the tolled SR 99 Tunnel in Downtown Seattle. SR 99 was officially named the William P. Stewart Memorial Highway by the state legislature in 2016, after a campaign to replace an unofficial moniker honoring Confederate president Jefferson Davis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Steinbrueck</span> American politician

Peter Steinbrueck is an American architect and politician from Seattle, Washington. He is the principal and founder of Steinbrueck Urban Strategies and was a member of the Seattle City Council from 1997 to 2008. He also was a Seattle Port Commissioner from 2018 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaskan Way Viaduct</span> Former elevated highway in Seattle, Washington

The Alaskan Way Viaduct was an elevated freeway in Seattle, Washington, United States, that carried a section of State Route 99. The double-decked freeway ran north–south along the city's waterfront for 2.2 miles (3.5 km), east of Alaskan Way and Elliott Bay, and traveled between the West Seattle Freeway in SoDo and the Battery Street Tunnel in Belltown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle City Council</span> Legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington

The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-large positions; all elections are non-partisan. It has the responsibility of approving the city's budget, and passes all legislation related to the city's police, firefighting, parks, libraries, and electricity, water supply, solid waste, and drainage utilities. (The mayor of Seattle is not considered part of council.)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Godden</span> American politician (born 1931)

Jean H. Godden is a former member of the Seattle City Council from 2004 - 2016. Before running for city council, she was a columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and The Seattle Times newspapers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Conlin</span> American politician

Richard Conlin is a former member of the Seattle City Council, first elected to council in 1997 and reelected in 2001, 2005, and 2009. He was elected, unanimously, by the council to be its president on January 7, 2008 and was unanimously reelected on January 4, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Lake Union Streetcar</span> Streetcar line in Seattle, Washington

The South Lake Union Streetcar, officially the South Lake Union Line, is a streetcar route in Seattle, Washington, United States, forming part of the Seattle Streetcar system. It travels 1.3 miles (2.1 km) and connects Downtown Seattle to the South Lake Union neighborhood on Westlake Avenue, Terry Avenue, and Valley Street. The South Lake Union Streetcar was the first modern line to operate in Seattle, beginning service on December 12, 2007, two years after a separate heritage streetcar ceased operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reginald H. Thomson</span>

Reginald Heber Thomson was a self-taught American civil engineer. He worked in Washington state, mainly in Seattle, where he became city engineer in 1892 and held the position for two decades. Alan J. Stein wrote that Thomson "probably did more than any other individual to change the face of Seattle" and was responsible for "virtually all of Seattle's infrastructure".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe McDermott (politician)</span> American politician from Washington

James Joseph McDermott is an American politician and a former member of the King County Council. He previously served ten years as a state legislator: seven years in the Washington House of Representatives and three in the Washington State Senate. In 2023, he announced that he would not seek re-election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Route 99 tunnel</span> Highway tunnel in Seattle, Washington

The State Route 99 tunnel, also known as the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel, is a bored highway tunnel in the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. The 2-mile (3.2 km), double-decker tunnel carries a section of State Route 99 (SR 99) under Downtown Seattle from SoDo in the south to South Lake Union in the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Seattle mayoral election</span>

The 2009 Seattle mayoral election took place November 3, 2009. Incumbent Seattle mayor Greg Nickels sought reelection but finished third in the August 18, 2009 primary election. The general election was instead between Joe Mallahan and Michael McGinn. McGinn beat Mallahan in the election with 51% of the vote share, becoming Seattle's next mayor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael McGinn</span> American politician

Michael McGinn is an American lawyer and politician. He served as mayor of the city of Seattle, Washington, and is a neighborhood activist and a former State Chair of the Sierra Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle Streetcar</span> Modern streetcar system in Seattle, Washington

The Seattle Streetcar is a system of two modern streetcar lines operating in the city of Seattle, Washington. The South Lake Union line opened first in 2007 and was followed by the First Hill line in 2016. The two lines are unconnected, but share similar characteristics: frequent service, station amenities, and vehicles. Streetcars typically arrive every 10–15 minutes most of the day, except late at night. The streetcar lines are owned by the Seattle Department of Transportation and operated by King County Metro. The system carried 1,326,500 passengers in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Bagshaw</span> American politician

Sally G. Bagshaw is an American politician. She was a member of the Seattle City Council from 2016 to 2019. Before being elected to city council, she had been the chief civil deputy prosecutor in the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for eight years under Norm Maleng.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike O'Brien (Seattle politician)</span> American politician

Michael J. O'Brien is an American politician and former member of the Seattle City Council who represented District 6 in northwest Seattle. He was first elected in 2009 to a different, city-wide council seat. He was the leading proponent of the opt-out list for the Yellow Pages. He was the only opponent of the proposed deep bore tunnel under downtown Seattle on the city council. He was chair of the local chapter of the Sierra Club before running for office. In this capacity, he was one of the leading opponents of the 2007 Roads and Transit ballot measure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine Street</span> East–west street in Seattle, Washington, U.S.

Pine Street is a major east–west street in Seattle, Washington, United States. It travels parallel to Pike Street between Downtown Seattle and the retail core to Capitol Hill, the Central District, and Madrona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Seattle City Council election</span>

The 2021 Seattle City Council election were held on November 2, 2021. Two seats of the nine-member Seattle City Council were up for election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Della</span> American politician (born 1955)

David Della is an American politician and labor activist from Seattle, Washington. In the 1970s and 1980s, Della was a union organizer fighting racial discrimination in the fish canary industry. He was elected to represent District 7 on the Seattle City Council in November 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Nicastro</span> American politician

Judy Nicastro is an American former politician who served from 2000 to 2004 as a Seattle City Council member in Position 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heidi Wills</span> American politician

Heidi Wills is an American former politician who was a member of the Seattle City Council from 2000 to 2004. In 2019, she ran for city council in District 7 but lost in the general election.

References

  1. ↑ "Candidate: Jan Drago". Our Campaigns. May 29, 2009. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  2. ↑ "Eight-year 'veteran' Drago banks on her experience in city council race". Seattle Post-Intelligencer . Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  3. ↑ Archives West. Retrieved January 17, 2019
  4. ↑ Mulady, Kathy (October 16, 2005). "Drago to be City Council president". Seattle Post-Intelligencer . Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  5. ↑ Seattle City Archives. Retrieved January 17, 2019
  6. ↑ Mulady, Kathy (December 11, 2003). "Drago often cited for work ethic". Seattle Post-Intelligencer . Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  7. ↑ staff, Seattle Times (March 1, 2009). "Drago won't run again for Seattle council". The Seattle Times . Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  8. ↑ Douglas, C.R. (December 27, 2009). "How Jan Drago dragooned a Viaduct solution". Crosscut . Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  9. ↑ Heffter, Emily (March 27, 2009). "It's official: Drago running for mayor". The Seattle Times . Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  10. ↑ King County Elections. Retrieved January 18, 2019
  11. ↑ Ervin, Keith (January 4, 2010). "Jan Drago sworn in, moves from City to County Council". The Seattle Times . Retrieved January 28, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.